House of Pictures and Memories
by newsiesgirllaces
Summary: Jason Todd wakes up in a city with absolutely no memory as to who he is and how he got there. All he knows is that his name is Jason. What now? Written while listening to Rent. Warining, there are OCs and also strong language
1. Chapter 1

**What happens when you listen to rent, love writing domestic Jason Todd, and listened to a classmate talk about being taken in by a kind old woman? This.**

**Please enjoy and tell me what you think :)**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.1

"My name is Jason." He whispered. "My name is Jason…" the man shook his head, blue eyes staring at his reflection on the window of a closed book store.

"Who am I?" he whispered, stepping backwards from the image of the man in front of him. The man looked so unfamiliar with tussled black curly hair, blue eyes, pale skin, hard muscles, and multiple bruises. On his back was a leather jacket that smelled like…

"Oil and… Gun powder?" he questioned. _But how do I know that? _he thought, frowning at the reflection. That man was _him_. That unrecognizable person staring back in the reflection was _him_.

"My name is Jason." He whispered again, comforted but alarmed that this was the only thing he could remember.

Staggering away from the window, Jason limped around the city that he had found himself in. His limp and bruises were disconcerting for him. _How the hell did I get so banged up? _He wondered but no memory surfaced to remind him.

After what felt to him like several hours of walking around, he had gathered that he was in a city called Metropolis, the date was September 24, and that someone called Superman was important. The name nagged him like something itching in the base of his skull, but no memory was pulled out.

Feeling exhausted, Jason meandered to a nearby bench in a park, and laid down.

_Maybe when I wake up I'll have my memory back and then can go on from there. _He thought with some hope, then quickly drifted to sleep.

"My name is Natalie." She whispered. "My name is Natalie." The girl stepped into the room. Her wild hair as tamed as possible, her makeup only accenting her eyes and lips, and her clothes presentable despite the fact that they still smelt like the thrift store.

She walked confidently into the room where two men and a woman were staring right at her with sheets of papers in front of them.

"Hello." She spoke slowly. "My name is Maria Colon, and I will be reading for the part of Natalie."

"My name is Luke Johnson." He whispered. "My name is Luke Johnson." The man stared down at the paper in his hands, reading his name that was written in bold faced times new roman. "They _have _to listen to me."

The man ran his dark hand on the pad of his laptop, clicking the send button on the screen.

"My name is Carla." She whispered. "My name is Carla." With that, the elderly woman hobbled into the laundry matt.

"Good morning Katrina." One woman smiled. The old lady paused for a moment, shriveled but firm hands clutching onto her load of wash. She then flashed the woman a smile.

"Good morning." She replied.

"My name is Charlotte." She whispered. "My name is Charlotte." She walked down the street, noticing the way people who knew her stared at her, but tried to keep her head held high.

With a tug, she felt herself pulled into an ally and pinned to a brick wall.

"So." The man smirked, pointing the knife in his hands to the girl's soft tan throat. "What's _your _name, huh?" he questioned with a cruel smile. His eyes bore down on hers, daring her to tell him something he wouldn't like to hear, something he knew wasn't the truth. She gulped hard.

"Charles." She whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

Chpt.2

Dragging his feet, Jason found himself meandering throughout the city yet again. When he had woken up, he could still only remember his name.

"This sucks." He grumbled, then felt his stomach groan, begging for food. "I wonder how much money I've got on me."

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he searched around. He had done the same thing the day before, but he hoped that maybe he overlooked something.

Unfortunately, all he could feel in his pockets was empty space and lint.

"Shit." He sighed, then continued to meander around, looking for something to jog his memory as to who he was and what was going on.

"Hola Mama Carla." Maria smiled, walking into the creaky old house. the floor boards squeaked with each step the woman took inside the home.

"Hello Maria." The older woman yelled from the kitchen, her white hair pulled up in a bun as she did the dishes. "Did you get the part?" she inquired, her voice hopeful, yet Maria let out a long sigh.

"Not exactly. They told me that my acting was great, but I just didn't _look _like what they had envisioned for the part." Maria tried to keep the irritation out of her voice, but was doing a poor job of it.

Carla dried her hands on an old rag and made her way over to Maria, standing on her tip toes to peck the girl on the forehead.

"Don't worry. God knows that there is another acting job going to open that'll pay more than the one you just auditioned for. He knows what he's doing." She smiled. Maria refused to let herself roll her eyes, for Carla's sake, and just smiled at the woman.

"God is a really good agent, I suppose." She chuckled, then looked at the dishes in the sink. "Do you want me to finish up here?"

"No, I need something to do right now. You should go upstairs and check on Luke and see how he's doing." She stated.

"Alright Mama." Maria grinned, kissing the old woman on the cheek, then running up the creaky stairs and then over to the room at the end of the hallway, designated as Luke's.

"Knock knock. Can I come in?" Maria inquired.

"You can do whatever you want." a small groan came out of the room. "Or don't. whichever works for you. It's not like my voice matters in the grand scheme of things."

Maria rolled her eyes and walked into the room, where Luke laid in his beaten up bed, staring blankly at the ceiling with the peeling cream colored paint. The only light was coming from the street lamp outside the window.

"The newspaper didn't accept your story?" she questioned, and Luke frowned.

"This story was important. Do you know how many people try to talk and no one listens? The lower side has _issues _that need to be solved. And one way to fix those issues is-"

"To have the masses know about it." Maria recited, sitting next to the man on the edge of his bed. "I know. I know."

"Guess I say the same thing every time, huh?" Luke stated and Maria just chuckled.

"You do have a point though. Unfortunately, it takes a lot to get the newspapers attention. People want to read about the alien invasion that happened three days ago and don't care about the poverty happening in their own backyard."

"That sucks." Luke grunted.

"But I'm right."

"Yeah, but it still sucks."

"I know." Maria nodded, and Luke shifted his gaze from the ceiling to the young woman.

"How'd your audition go?"

"I'm too Mexican for the part."

"But you're Puerto Rican."

"Exactly."

The two sat side by side for a while in silence.

"What did Grandma Carla say?" Luke inquired, breaking through the quiet.

"That God was just waiting to give me a better role and stuff like that." Maria sighed.

"Bless that woman." Luke shook his head. "Dunno where she gets all of her optimism."

"Maybe with her social security check."

"I heard that." both teens looked up to see Carla standing in the hallway. Her face was creased with lines of worry.

"What's wrong?" Luke questioned, noticing the look on the old woman's face.

"Have either of you heard from Charlie?" the woman inquired and Maria and Luke exchanged worried looks.

"No." they both answered. Carla looked at the old clock hanging in the hallway, then back at the two young adults.

"I'll give her another hour. If she's not back by then can you two go looking for her?"

"Yes Mama Carla." Maria stated and Luke nodded.

"Thank you."

"Well, this was an unproductive day." Jason grumbled, limping on the streets and still finding out nothing about himself. He managed to scrounge up some loose change found in various places to buy himself some cheap food, but his stomach gurgled for more.

As he walked by an ally, he heard a low grunt and a hard slap.

_Someone just got punched in the stomach. _Jason found it weird how he could identify the sound. He quickly ran into the ally and saw a person on the ground wearing a cheap floral dress with leggings and boots, and they had olive tone tan skin. A heap of black hair was next to the person, and when Jason got closer, he realized that the head of hair was actually a wig.

Standing over the person and kicking them was a rough looking young man.

Something flared inside of Jason. A deep anger that stemmed from somewhere within the pit of his stomach and then burned outward to the tips of his fingers.

Before Jason knew what he was doing, he had the abusive man on the ground, breaking his arm and several fingers.

Once again, Jason was disturbed how he knew what he was doing, and how he enjoyed hearing the crunch of the man's bones break.

Wobbling to his feet, the abuser ran off, and Jason looked down at the person the ground. His anger ebbed away, now replaced with concern.

"Hey, are you alright?" he inquired, kneeling down next to the person, but their back was facing him.

"No." a soft voice from the person stated, and Jason could see the person shaking. They were crying.

Gently, Jason turned the person around to see their face. She had a pretty face. Sure, her makeup was running a bit, and her jawline looked slightly masculine, but she wasn't bad looking at all.

"Miss, can you stand?" Jason inquired in a calm tone of voice. The young woman looked at Jason with surprise, but slowly stood to her feet. She wobbled on them, but Jason was swiftly there to support her. He then reached down and handed her the wig.

"Is this yours?"

"Yes, thank you." The girl nodded.

"No problem. If you want, I can walk you home and be your temporary crutch. That guy certainly did a number on you."

"You look pretty banged up yourself." The girl stated and Jason just chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Jason said as he let the girl lean on him. She then started limping one way and Jason followed as a crutch. "By the way, mine name's Jason."

"Mine's Charl… Charlotte, but you can call me Charlie." She informed and slowly found herself smiling and Jason smiled back at her.

"Charlotte's a very pretty name." Jason nodded, making sure the girl didn't stumble as they crossed a grate.

"Thank you. And thanks for helping me back there. Some people are just… terrible." Charlie sighed, her eyes looking down at the ground and her smile turning into a frown.

"It's not a problem, Charlotte." Jason gave the girl a comforting smile as he continued to walk her to her house.

Charlie led Jason to a small brown dilapidated looking house that looked to Jason like a small gust of wind could knock the structure down.

He carefully helped Charlie up the steps of the front porch, then knocked on the brown wooden door. After several seconds, a young Latino woman opened it up.

"Charlie! We were just about to go looking for you!" she exclaimed with relief washing over her face. "Ay dios mio those bruises… did someone…"

"This man, Jason, helped me." Charlie informed, her face downcast.

"Here, come in." She helped wrapped an arm around Charlie and Jason was about to turn and leave when the Latino girl stopped him.

"Come in, Jason." She stated, and Jason hesitantly walked into the home. There were framed pictures all over the house of the latino girl, two African American young men, one older than the other, and Charlie. It was as if the walls of the house were a photo album.

Jason took a seat on the beaten up old brown couch next to Charlie while Maria stood in front of Charlie, looking over her injuries.

"I'm fine, Maria. You should be looking at Jason." Charlie mumbled, but Maria shook her head.

"I'll get to Jason after you. I need to make sure you're okay." Maria grimaced when she lifted up Charlie's dress to see her ribs. Charlie's ribs were already bruising. "What did the guy who hurt you look like?"

"Can't remember. How'd your audition go?" Charlie questioned.

"Don't try to fucking change the subject!" Maria exclaimed, making Charlie cringe a bit.

"I broke the man's arm." Jason said, trying to ease the situation.

"What?" Maria's head whipped around to look over at Jason.

"I broke his arm. The guy who hurt Charlie. I snapped it." Jason stated, and noticed the look of shock on Maria's face. "The guy must've not drank his milk or something." He added, his voice a low mumble.

"Is Charlie back? I hear voices?" a young African American man that Jason recognized from the hanging pictures came down the stairs, followed by an elderly woman.

"Yeah, and she brought a friend." Maria smiled. "A friend who can kick ass."

"Maria!" the old woman, Carla, scorned, offended by the language.

"Sorry Mama Carla." Maria sighed, a small trace of guilt showing in her eyes.

Carla's eyes went to Charlie and they widened in horror. The old woman was at Charlie's side in a matter of moments.

"Oh, Charlie…"

"I'm fine, Saint Carla." Charlie chuckled, lightly pushing away a hand the old woman had out to stroke her face. "Jason helped me."

Carla looked over at Jason and the man straightened up under her gaze.

"It's uh… it's a pleasure to meet you miss." Jason said, sticking his hand out to shake.

It was obvious to Jason that Carla was the caretaker of the house. The old woman just seemed to have that sort of presence about her that commanded Jason's respect. He hardly knew the woman, but he wasn't going to ignore someone who gave off that type of air of protectiveness and authority.

After a pause Carla grasped her withered hands around Jason's and smiled up at him.

"The pleasure is mine. Thank you so much for looking after Charlie."

"It wasn't a problem at all." Jason shrugged. "I just don't like seeing people get picked on." The young African American man, Luke, was eyeing him curiously.

"I haven't seen you around and I've sifted through these streets a lot. Are you not from around here?" Luke inquired.

"Well… it's uh… it's a long story." Jason let out a long sigh, his head running through his curly black hair.

"Then tell us all about while Maria bandages you up." Carla stated and Maria took the cue to get the first aid kit.

"Oh, I couldn't-"

"Hush up and sit down, young man." Carla stated swiftly and Jason found himself collapsing on the couch.

"Do you want some coffee and cookies?" Carla inquired and before Jason could say anything, Jason's stomach growled loudly.

"I'll take that as a yes." Carla smiled, and was out into the kitchen to retrieve the food.


	3. Chapter 3

**Please tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is wonderful! Enjoy :)**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.3

"You don't have any memory?" Maria questioned, finishing up her last bandage around Jason's ankle, and he shrugged.

"Seems so. I remember that my name is Jason, but that's it." he informed, his voice sincere and calm. However after Jason reviewed the sentence in his head, his eyes widened in realization. "God, I don't even know my last name."

"That's horrible." Carla frowned, and Luke placed a hand on Jason's shoulder.

"Where have you been staying?" he questioned.

"I slept on a bench last night." Jason responded and everyone in the room was silent for several moments. However, the silence didn't seem to come from pity. It seemed to come from understanding what it was like to sleep on a bench all too well.

It was Luke who then broke that silence.

"Grandma Carla," Luke looked over at the old woman. "Can he stay? We have a spare room." Carla's eyes widened.

"Of course he can stay, but are _you_ okay with that? Michael-"

"Michael isn't going to rise from the dead to take back his bed." Luke stated with a small smile. "'sides, I think Mikey would've liked him. Jason _did _save Charlie after all." Luke stated and Jason looked between Luke and Carla, lost about who they were talking about.

The old woman turned her attention to Jason, her clear blue eyes matching his.

"Jason, would you like to stay here? You can stay as long as you want as long as you help out with some chores." Carla stated and Jason stared at her, baffled.

"I… are you sure?" He didn't expect this. For all they knew, he could have been a criminal just making up this amnesia story.

"Of course." The old woman smiled tenderly at him. Jason stared at her, his jaw partially dropped in surprise. After waking up in pain and remembering nothing and staying the night on a park bench, this woman was offering him a place to stay. He was moved by her offer, his throat dry from his happiness.

"Thank you." He finally managed to say. He then wrapped the woman in a hug. "Thank you so much."

"Is that a yes?" Charlie inquired and Jason smiled at her.

"Yes. Yes, I would like to stay her for a while." Jason had figured that maybe his memory would return to him in the coming days, and having a place to stay was great so he wouldn't have to wander the streets, alone and hungry.

"Welcome to the family then!" Maria exclaimed, throwing her hands up into the air and Jason laughed at that.

"Here, you're probably beat. I'll show you to where you'll be staying." Luke informed and helped Jason up the stairs of the old house, each step creaking loudly. Jason was worried that they wouldn't hold several times.

However, once upstairs, Luke led Jason down a short hallway, where there was a room at the very end of it.

It was a fairly empty room. The walls were a dull blue, there was a made bed, a work bench, some tools on the work bench, and a thin layer of dust on everything.

"Who was Michael?" Jason inquired, looking over at Luke, remembering the name being mentioned earlier.

"My kid brother. He did mostly odd jobs, but he loved fixing things." Luke smiled sadly, his eyes laying on the work bench, but Jason could tell that the other man's mind was on the past.

"What happened to him?" Jason's voice was soft when he asked. Luke snapped out of the past, but his eyes remained on the work bench. He almost looked like he was holding back tears.

"Wrong place at the wrong time. Some punk stole from a convenience store and my brother was coming home from one of his odd jobs in the area. Cops saw him and bang. My brother was dead before they realized their mistake." Luke frowned, tearing his eyes away from the work bench to look at Jason.

Jason was gritting his teeth as rage boiled in his stomach. He wanted to do something. He felt like he _could _do something. He just didn't know what.

"That… that's awful! How-"

"Calm down, you looked pissed."

"I _am_ pissed. That's not right." Jason growled, his brows furrowing over his blue eyes and his jaw was clenched in anger.

"Well, I know that it's not right, but there isn't much you can do." Luke said with a long sigh, but there was also a hint of frustration in his voice.

Jason noticed how Luke seemed to be restraining his own anger.

"Got it… well… thanks for letting me stay here." Jason whispered, unsure how to carry on the subject while on the topic of Luke's dead brother.

"No problem. You just make yourself comfortable and get some sleep. The bathroom is right next to your room and if you need anything, Maria and I are in the two rooms up here." He informed.

"Where do Charlie and Carla sleep?" Jason questioned and Luke smiled.

"They have two rooms downstairs, but I wouldn't risk waking either of them up. They both can be real bears when they don't get their sleep." He informed with a small chuckle and Jason smiled at the man.

"Thanks for the warning."

Luke left the room and Jason started to make himself comfortable and strip off his clothes. He removed his jacket and shirt, and then looked at himself in the mirror in the room. He wasn't expecting the amount of gnarled scars that didn't heal properly and scars that looked to be the result of bullets and scars that went down his chest and Jason could hardly believe that was him in the mirror.

"What the hell did I do?" he whispered, tracing over the scars with his fingers. He then removed his boots when he felt something come out of one of them with a clunk.

Bending down, he picked up the object that fell out of his boot, and to his shock, he found that it was a pocket knife. But not just any pocket knife. No, this knife was extremely sharp and thick enough to slice through…

_People. _He thought, but shuttered. Why would the thought of cutting people come to mind when staring at a knife? _Fingers… you can slice through fingers. Good for getting information. _His brain told him, which freaked Jason out even more.

He placed the knife into the pocket of his jacket and tried to push it from his mind. At the moment. All he really needed was some sleep.

~*~*~*~*~Later~*~*~*~*~

Jason woke up with small beams of light falling over his face, making him squint his eyes.

Sitting up, Jason could see that the sun was shining through the window blinds.

The events from the day before suddenly crashed onto him and all sense of his drowsiness was gone.

Trying to remember anything from his past, Jason sat up, closed his eyes, and tried searching through his mind for something, _anything_. Unfortunately, he had no luck.

With a sigh, Jason rolled out of the bed and to his surprise, there was a pile of fresh clothes set out for him. They were obviously older clothes, but Jason didn't mind. He was just grateful that he had something to wear that wasn't stained with sweat and blood.

Jason threw on the large t-shirt and then the large pants. To hold up the pants, there was a pair of suspenders.

Jason would have preferred a belt but he didn't the feel of the suspenders too much. Yeah, they were a bit crooked and he didn't know how to even the straps out, but they held up the pants, which was all that mattered to Jason.

Once he looked in the mirror, he couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"I look like I'm from the 40s." he chuckled, then made his way to the door. However, he stopped in the doorway. He felt like he was missing something important, that something in the back of his head was telling him that he simply _couldn't _leave without.

Jason dug out the pocket knife from the jacket pocket and went to put it into his pocket when he froze. That was wrong.

He put the knife in his shoe, and then walked out the door.

It scared him that he had that sort of habit of needing to have a weapon on him in a place where weapons usually wouldn't be stored.

However, Jason just tried to push the thought of the knife out of his head.

Jason found Carla in the kitchen, cooking eggs.

"Good morning, Jason." The old woman smiled.

"Good morning." Jason's eyes went to the old clock on the wall and they widened. "Or, I guess it's good afternoon." He frowned. The clock read 12:36.

"I couldn't find it in myself to wake you up. You looked so peaceful." Carla informed, then placed the frying pan with the eggs off the stove, walked over to him and started fiddling with the suspenders.

"You're much larger than Luke and Michael so I had to lend you my late husband's clothes. He was about as large as you are." She then chuckled at how the pants were a bit loose. "However, when he got older, those donuts really did catch up to him."

"No doubt that'll happen to me." Jason smirked, which got a good laugh out of Carla. Once Carla was finished straightening the suspenders, she gave the young man a once over to make sure everything was alright.

"You're built like an ox, I wouldn't be surprised if you worked on a farm." Carla said, then went back to the eggs and slid them onto a plate. She then placed some premade toast with cinnamon sugar drizzled on top and bacon on the plate as well.

"Eat up." Carla stated, handing the food over to Jason.

"Thanks." Jason grinned gratefully, sitting down at the small table in the kitchen. "Where's everyone else?"

"Luke and Maria wait tables together at a nearby diner. Charlie works at a café and also picks up odd jobs here and there." Carla informed. "I also have a part time job at a grocery store bagging items."

"Huh. That's interesting." Jason hummed. "Not to sound offensive, but aren't you old enough to retire?"

"I have to keep myself busy somehow." Carla chuckled. "Now, do you want orange juice, milk, water, or apple juice? I'd offer you coffee but the machine is broken."

"Milk is fine, thanks." Jason smiled and the old woman got out the carton and poured him a glass.

"I can't thank you enough for everything, Ms. Carla." Jason stated and the old woman laughed.

"It's just Carla. You don't need to be so formal about it." she informed, then said, "And don't think I'm just going to let you lounge around all day. I have some errands to run and I am going to need those strong muscles of yours."

Jason smiled at the woman and chuckled,

"Yes, Carla. It'd be my pleasure."

"After running the errands we can then get you some more clothes since I don't think you'll want to wear my husband's clothes all the time." Carla stated and Jason's eyes widened.

"You don't have to do that. I don't want to cost you too much money-"

"Oh hush up, it's fine." Carla stated. "God gave me money so I can help others. Now finish up. We need to go to the laundry mat and then the grocery store to pick up some things." Jason swiftly finished the food, and then followed the old woman out the door.

As he jumped into the side of a beaten up looking Subaru, Jason briefly wondered when he would get his memory back. However, Carla just turned on the radio and left it on Bon Jovi's _Wanted Dead or Alive_.

The song doesn't bring back any memories for Jason, but it does bring out some happiness. And oddly enough, he can remember every word to the song.


	4. Chapter 4

**I know that Zinda was technically the only Female Black Hawk, but I'm the author so I do what I want. Please Enjoy and tell me what you think! :)**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.4

"Good morning Katrina, I see you brought a friend with you." At first, Jason didn't think the woman at the laundry mat was talking to them until Carla responded,

"Good morning." Jason noticed the tight look on the old woman's face despite her smile.

"Hi, I'm Jason. And her name is Carla, not Katrina." Jason stated and the woman looked at Jason with surprise.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I've been calling you Katrina for so long."

"It's alright dear." The old woman smiled politely, but looked more relieved than she did earlier.

With a departing word to the other woman, Carla and Jason moved to one of the washing machines with the baskets of laundry in tow.

"Thank you, Jason." Carla said in a low voice. "I can never find it in me to correct people when they call me by the wrong name. I'm just used to being that transparent old lady." Before Jason could say anything, Carla stated, "Oh, God didn't give me lips to complain. Here, help me with the wash."

Jason did so without question, piling the loads of wash, and he supposed that since the house had so many people, it made sense that there were a lot of clothes to wash. Once done occupying several washing machines, the two sat on a bench and talked while they waited for their laundry.

"Can you remember anything more?" Carla inquired, concern in the old woman's gray eyes.

"No. I mean, I get feelings about things but I don't have a memory to go with it, if that makes any sense."

"I see. Have you considered going to a hospital, or to the police?"

"No." Jason whispered, and shook his head, feeling something in his mind telling him that that would be a bad idea. "No, I can't go to the hospital or the police. Just… no. I can't."

"Alright." Carla nodded, obviously not going to force Jason into doing something he didn't want to do, even if she thought that it would be helpful.

"So, what did you do before bagging groceries?" Jason questioned, trying to get off of the subject of his memory. Carla seemed surprised that Jason wanted to know more about her, but smiled and said,

"Oh, I did quite a bit. I worked in a steel factory, a pet store, I was a manager of a clothing store, I've always been a photographer, and I was a pilot in world war two."

The last one threw Jason off.

"You were a pilot in world war two?" Jason question and the old woman chuckled.

"Oh yes. I was sixteen years old when I managed to obtain my flying permit, my father already a pilot. About a year later I forced my way into being part of the Black Hawks by stowing away on their planes and helping out. I was such a stubborn pain. It took a while, but they eventually accepted me. Wearing the Black Hawk uniform was one of the proudest moments in my life."

The name Black hawk seemed to tug at Jason's memory, but no image was pulled up to further it.

Carla talked to Jason about her service and Jason listened with wrapped interest, asking her questions and thoroughly enjoying how she told the stories.

Jason enjoyed the day with Carla as he listened to her war stories as they finished up with the laundry and grocery shopping.

Carla had such a history to share that Jason wondered if she wrote a book. He believed that it would be an interesting one. A teenaged girl world war two pilot who joined an international air force but stowing away on planes was a good way to capture someone's attention.

Even though Jason had wanted to hear more, Carla stopped telling stories about when she was young when they went shopping for some clothes for Jason. Instead, she was now asking him what clothes he liked.

Jason was a simple guy, enjoying the feel of sturdy jeans and t-shirts. Carla then bought him a button up shirt, slacks, and loafers despite Jason's protests.

"In case there is an occasion where you need to look nice, you'll have these." Carla stated. Jason's eyes were focused on the tags of the outfit.

"Carla, that is pretty expensive for just one outfit. I'm fine with the jeans, socks and t-shirts."

"Honestly, you make such a fuss about clothes over twenty dollars, just like Maria." Carla huffed, as she bought the clothes for Jason.

Once back in the car with the clothes, Jason said,

"I can't thank you enough for everything." His tone was sincere and Carla just gave him a smile.

"Oh it's fine. I'm happy that you seem interested enough to hear an old woman talk."

"You're not that old."

"Jason, I'm ninety-two."

"Really? I pegged you for seventy-three tops." Jason smirked and the old woman playfully smacked him on the arm.

"Well, aren't you a charmer. I might just become a cougar in my old age." Carla joked, which earned a laugh out of Jason.

Jason saw how old Carla looked, but he applauded her for being ninety-two and still being able to drive. She was the most mobile ninety-two year old that Jason had ever seen, at least, that he knew of.

~*~*~*~*~Later~*~*~*~*~

"I really need to throw that coffee machine away. It's only collecting dust." Carla sighed as she and Jason did the dishes from the morning. She washed while he dried.

"I'll take care of it once we're finished with the dishes." Jason stated.

True to his word, once everything was dried and put away, Jason took hold of the unloved coffee machine.

He stared at it for a moment, noting how that aside from it being covered in dust, the machine looked brand new. After some thought Jason put the coffee machine on the kitchen table.

"Carla, do you have a screw driver?" he inquired, and the old woman looked at him with surprise, but didn't ask why he wanted one. Just from looking at the coffee machine on the table and the look on Jason's face, she knew what he planned to do. It was the same look Michael had on his face when he was about to fix something.

"There's tools in Michael's desk." She informed, but Jason shook his head.

"… I don't think I should-"

"Michael isn't using them now or anytime soon. I think he'd be okay with it."

With Carla giving him the okay, Jason went up to the room then came back down with the tools and started to tinker with the machine.

Thirty minutes later, the machine whirred to life.

"I think I fixed it." Jason whispered, not quite knowing how. His hands just worked on auto pilot.

Carla had started reading, sitting on a chair in the living room closest to the kitchen, but looked up from her book when she heard Jason speak (the title of the book said: _Fifty Shades of Grey _and Jason didn't know why, but he wanted to laugh at that).

"I think I fixed it." Jason repeated.

"Well," Carla placed the book down to walk over to Jason. "Let's give it a whirl."

After a few sputters, the machine started to pour out the rich liquid of coffee and Carla smiled.

"I think some coffee will go great with dessert tonight." She then patted Jason on the back. "Perhaps I was wrong about you being a farm boy. Maybe you were a mechanic." Jason laughed at that.

"Yeah, maybe." However, something was disturbing him. While he was fixing the coffee machine, his brain told him that if he rewired it and added some materials, he could make a perfectly functional bomb.

_What was I?_


	5. Chapter 5

**sorry if my Spanish isn't the best.**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.5

"Nice job on the coffee, Jason." Luke sighed in content as he took another sip from the mug. Jason had used the coffee machine he fixed to make everyone a cup to go with the dessert once everyone was back home.

Home.

It was strange to Jason how he felt like this place was his home when he hadn't been staying there for that long.

"Coffee definitely goes well with the muffins Mama Carla made." Maria nodded. All the while, Charlie had managed to fall asleep against Jason on the couch. She drank all her coffee but instead of energized, all she looked was fatigued.

"She's had a long night, poor girl." Carla frowned looking at Charlie with worry and Maria just shook her head.

"Mama Carla, she's fine. She loves to play so she won't give up her music and dancing gets her a good amount of money."

"Dancing?" Jason questioned.

"Yeah, Charlie works as a pole dancer at a night club. That's why she gets home so late. She also plays her guitar a bit at a café before that, so her nights are pretty packed." Maria explained. Jason looked down at Charlie and noticed how calm she looked while asleep.

"Well, at least she can get some rest now." Jason said with a small smile. "So, how was everyone's day?"

"Same old same old." Luke shrugged. "Racist Bill still complains whenever Maria or I serve him." Luke's face was pulled up into a disgusted smirk. It was like he thought the situation was funny but he also hated it at the same time.

"I'm surprised they still let that sour old man into the diner." Carla stated, shaking her head. Maria just laughed.

"I'm surprised he hasn't left yet. I speak to him in nothing but Spanish just to get on his nerves. I swear he'll have a heart attack one day from his anger."

"Now Maria, you don't wish harm on anyone." Carla said in a scolding tone and Maria shook her head.

"He's the one that gets angry when I speak Spanish. And he's the one who's an outright racist. He _spat _on Luke the first time he came in and saw him. If he dies, it'd be his own damned fault." Maria grunted and Carla sighed.

"Let's just forget about Racist Bill and hope that he dies peacefully in his sleep."

"I thought you said not to wish harm on other people?" Luke questioned and Carla chuckled.

"There's nothing harmful about dying peacefully."

Everyone including Jason laughed at that. Jason hardly even knew who this racist Bill was, but with a nick name like that, Jason knew that he didn't like him.

"How was your day with Grandma Carla, Jason?" Luke questioned after the laugh, looking at Jason. "Did she drive you crazy from her rambling?"

"I enjoyed talking to Carla. It was a great day and we got a lot done."

"Carla, you found the perfect person to hang out with during the day. Congratulations." Maria smirked and Carla just smirked right back at the girl.

"Oh, you are all just jealous that Jason is more cultured and respectable than all of you put together. He actually _listens_ to his elders."

"Grandma Carla, I'm hurt." Luke frowned, placing his hand dramatically over his heart. "I didn't know you picked favorites."

The group continued joking back and forth and Jason felt a lightness in his heart. He felt warm and relaxed and comfortable. He got a small feeling in his stomach telling him that he wasn't used to these feelings. However used to the feelings or not, he wanted to keep having them. He loved feeling like he belonged in this place.

"Hammem immimm shagoak." Jason looked down to see Charlie talking in her sleep contently. It sounded like gibberish.

"Fommma. Aaammio." Her voice was low and soft. Jason didn't realize how different her voice sounded when she was conscious verses when she was unconscious.

Jason heard a click and looked up to see Carla holding a small camera and smiling at him.

"This should make a good picture." Carla said happily. It was then that Jason realized that she was most likely the one who took all the pictures that littered the house.

"You should hand the camera over to me so we can get a god picture of you." Luke smiled, but the old woman shook her head.

"No. No. I'm terrible in pictures." Carla stated, sounding adamant in her decision and Luke just sighed as if he were used to this while Maria rolled her eyes.

"Maria, if you keep rolling your eyes they are going to fall out of your head one day." Carla chided. "God didn't give you eyes so you could roll them."

"Yes Mama Carla." Maria just smiled innocently at the woman as if she had done nothing wrong before.

As the night grew later everyone decided that it was a good idea to turn in for bed. Everyone placed their dishes in the sink to be washed later, then headed to their rooms. Jason carried Charlie to her room since she was still asleep.

He slid off her shoes and socks, and then slid her into the bed. Charlie continued snoozing peacefully and Jason was about to leave when Maria appeared in the doorway.

"We need to take off her wig and makeup too." She informed as she made her way next to the bed and slowly slid the wig off of Charlie's head and then placed it on a stand on the desk. Maria then grabbed a makeup removing cloth and Jason looked at her, confused.

"Won't that wake her up?"

"No. Charlie's like a corpse when she's asleep." Maria chuckled, then started to scrub the makeup off of Charlie's face, revealing the squarer jaw and further down to reveal a well-covered Adams apple.

"Anything else we should do?" Jason questioned once Maria was done washing the other girl's face.

"Nope. I just figured I'd show you so you know what to do when this happens again. She tends to fall asleep really easily." Maria informed and Jason smiled at her.

"Thanks." The two walked up the creaky stairs, passing multiple pictures along the way and then headed to their rooms.

"Goodnight, Maria." Jason gave the girl a smile and Maria kissed Jason on the cheeks. It wasn't anything sexual, just a friendly platonic kiss, but it made Jason grateful for the attention.

"Night Jason." She said, and with that, the two headed to bed.

~O~O~O~O~O~

Jason woke up early, a cold sweat throughout his body and he felt out of breath. He figured that he had a nightmare, but no matter how long he thought about it, he couldn't remember what it was of.

Jason then stood to his feet, feeling the cold wooden floor beneath his toes, and made his way out of the room and down the stairs.

He memorized where the creaks were in the floorboards in the extremely short amount of time he had been there. Despite how large he was, he managed to soundlessly move throughout the house like a ghost.

_Was I a ninja or something?_ Jason wondered, but pushed the thought out of his mind.

There were dishes still in the sink from the night before. Moving to the dirty dishes, Jason let the water run for a few seconds, then started washing the various plates, bowls, mugs, and utensils.

"Jason, usted es levantarse temprano." Jason turned his head to see Maria, who's eyes were bleary, curly hair sticking up every which way, and her body language told him that she wasn't even fully awake yet. She was wearing superman pajama pants and a baggy "I Heart Metropolis" t-shirt.

The girl spoke Spanish to him, most likely not even realizing the slip up because of how tired she was.

"No podia dormir." Jason responded with ease, however he froze a moment after the words left his mouth, eyes wide. He had understood what Maria said, and what more, he replied back to her.

"You speak Spanish?" Maria questioned, sounding more awake. Jason was silent for a moment, not know how to respond..

"Guess so." Jason sighed as he placed the last dish on the drying rack. "I wish I knew how I know."

"I'm sure one of these days it'll come to you." Maria gave him a comforting smile and a peck on the cheek.

The young woman then moved to the stove.

"Wanna help me make breakfast? I'm making some eggs." She was pulling out a frying pan and starting the stove, but Jason knew what she was doing. She was trying to get his mind off of the disturbing fact that he knew how to do things and he didn't know why.

"Sounds good." Jason smiled at the girl, allowing the distraction, and made his way to the refrigerator to grab the eggs.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for taking a while to update. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Enjoy! :)**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.6

Jason got used to the day in and day out of his new life with the family unit in the rickety old house.

He got used to seeing random flashes from Carla's camera and then later on seeing a picture with his face on it hung on the walls. He got used to hearing Maria cursing in Spanish and practicing dramatic monologues for auditions in the living room. He got used to going through the routine of putting Charlie to bed and listening to her play her guitar. He got used to Luke's fingers clacking on his keyboard of the laptop and him reading over and editing papers. He got used to the creaks in the floorboards, and the sound of the heating system kicking in, and the smell of Carla's god awful waffles, and the terrible way Maria folds laundry.

He was more than just used to it. He was _enjoying _his new life. However, he was still clueless as to what his old life was like.

Unfortunately he would have terrible panic attacks and vivid horrible images that would linger in his mind enough to terrify him but vanish when he'd try to pry into the memory. And because Jason spent most of his time with Charlie, she saw him effected by it the most.

"You sounded great in that café, Charlie." Jason smiled as he and the shorter woman walked side by side down the street, on their way to yet another venue Charlie had at a coffee shop. Jason would often walk with Charlie to different places when he could. The main reason being that he didn't want anything bad to happen to her since he had dubbed himself her older brother. Jason also walked with her because he enjoyed her music and the coffee houses she went to.

"You flatter me, Jay." Charlie chuckled as she skipped next to the man. "But you really think that my Black Bird sounds good? It makes me worry doing a classic-"

"Charlie, don't worry so much, you sounded beautiful and that goes for your Black Bird song too. The Beatles would be honored to have you playing it."

"Jason your compliments start to sound like lies after a while."

"_Me? Lie?_ Why I would never lie. If I lied, Carla would wipe my mouth with soap and grab a belt and beat me something fierce." Jason chuckled, but that's when it hit. Something triggered a memory and Jason was no longer in control of himself.

He froze in his spot as images would flash before his eyes.

"Jay?" Charlie questioned, but he didn't respond. "Jason?" once he didn't respond a second time, Charlie's eyes widened and she paled. She knew what was about to happen.

About two seconds later, Jason was sobbing and holding himself, eyes wide with fear. However, Charlie had seen and dealt with Jason when he was like this before.

She steered him to a trashcan on the side of the road where he proceeded to vomit the contents of his stomach out as he continued crying and she soothingly rubbed his back and kissed him on the head.

It took him a few minutes, but after he came out of his panic attack, he was shaking and still wide eyed.

"It's okay, Jay." Charlie whispered, then handed him a water bottle from her bag. "Here, get some fluids in your system."

"So much blood." Jason shook his head. "All I can remember is blood. Blood on my hands and on my clothes and on the ground…"

"Shhh, Jay. Don't think about it too hard." Charlie made sure Jason took several gulps of water before he continued to talk.

"Charlie… what if I'm a criminal? What if I'm some sort of fucked up mass murderer who-"

"No." Charlie's voice was hard and she gave him an even look.

"What?" Jason looked at her in shock. "You can't be completely sure of that and with what I sometimes see-"

"No. You are not a criminal. A criminal wouldn't have saved me or help do half the things you do for this makeshift family." Charlie stated seriously, then wrapped her arms around the man in a hug. "Don't you _ever_ think that you're a criminal. You're too good. Too god damn good." At first Jason was speechless, but then he wrapped his arms around Charlie and hugged her back.

"Thanks, Charlie." He then parted from her, trying to shake himself off from the ordeal and move on. "Now, let's head to that coffee house, I'd hate it if I made you late."

"You're the best, Jay." She smiled and the two walked arm in arm to the venue, as if nothing had happened.

~*~*~*~*~Later~*~*~*~*~

When they got back to the house, the only one there was Carla.

"Did Maria go to her audition?" Jason inquired to the old woman.

"Yes and Luke went to do some further investigation for a news article." Carla informed and Jason let out a sigh.

"Luke scares me when he goes out on his own. I know he can handle it, but still. Back up is nice, especially since he's sticking his nose into things." Charlie stated, voicing Jason's thoughts.

"Honey, I know the feeling, but you can't change Luke's mind about something. God made him stubborn for a reason."

"Still makes me worry." Charlie sighed, but then headed to her room. "I'm gonna rest up a bit."

"Do you want me to make you some tea?" Jason inquired, but Charlie just shook her head.

"Thanks, but no thanks Jay." With that, she disappeared behind the door.

"I'm going to mop up. The house is getting a bit dusty again." Jason stated, trying to keep himself helpful and busy, and Carla kissed him on the forehead.

"You're too good to us, Jason." She smiled.

"Actually, you're too good to me." Jason said as he pulled out the mop, and then headed to the living room to start.

"I'll be in here washing dishes and reading."

"All right, at least I don't have to worry about you getting into trouble, Carla." Jason smirked.

"Trust me, I got enough of my trouble making out of me when I was young." After a good laugh, both Carla and Jason turned their attention to their respective chores.

After Jason was done mopping, he went back to the kitchen to talk to Carla. However, he noticed the painful look on her face and how she seemed to be hugging herself.

"Carla, you're making that face again." Jason stated as he stepped into the kitchen where the old woman was seated at the table.

"What face?" Carla inquired with a small smile, looking up at Jason, and the young man made his way to the table and sat next to her.

"The face you make when you think too long about your husband." Jason stated and Carla sighed, her face fading into a look of melancholy.

"I'm starting to forget what he looked like. Damn man never liked getting his picture taken, and I didn't either." She shook her head sadly. "I wish that I forced him to take just one." Her eyes were watering and Jason kissed her on the forehead.

"God gave us a heaven so we don't need pictures of passed loved ones." Jason stated, gently grasping her hands. He didn't know if he believed the words himself, but Carla just chuckled.

"You've listened to me too much."

"Someone has to." Jason grinned. Carla looked at Jason with tears in her eyes but a soft expression on her face.

"Come here, boy. Give this old woman a hug." Carla stated and Jason smiled as he wrapped his arms around the old woman.

He had definitely gotten used to this family. And he loved them.


End file.
